The ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Venezuelan has cost an estimated $700 million and counting with two more oil tankers seized Jan. 7, as President Donald Trump aims to sell more Venezuelan crude oil to American refineries and convince U.S. oil companies to return to embattled nation.
Operating the USS Gerald R. Ford and its aircraft carrier strike group costs more than $9 million per day—adjusted for inflation—since being ordered to Latin American waters in October, according to a prior report from the Center for a New American Security. Those costs do not account for the boat strikes that began in late August—killing more than 100 people thus far—or the Jan. 4 attacks in Venezuela that resulted in the arrests of leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Trump has argued the U.S. does not want a prolonged occupation so long as Maduro’s vice president and now-acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, defers to the U.S. And he is pushing for U.S. oil companies to work in Venezuela to rebuild the dilapidated industry and get oil and dollars flowing again.
The White House did not refute the financial numbers of the blockade nor provide additional information, with spokesperson Anna Kelly saying in a statement that Maduro’s arrest saves American lives, stops the flow of drugs and criminals, initiates a deterrence in the Western Hemisphere, and creates economic opportunities for Venezuelans and Americans.
